Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-09-05

amid all her business she is able to give re-
ceptions and to entertain such visitors as call
upon her in her business hours
/ am speaking of Mrs Frank Leslie, the
proprietor of the Leslie publications, and the
woman who is still the talk of London as the
cause of the trouble between the Russian
prince and the Count de Leuville. met her
during her visit at Washington last winter.
She was stopping at the Riggs house and she
had spent the evening before at the presidents
reception. While there was told of pretty
compliment she had paid Mrs Cleveland On
being introduced, she had remarked:
Madam, am very glad to Fl I'd that our
first lady of the land is also one of the love-
lest Of the land"
Mrs. Cleveland had replied that she was
very glad to get such a compliment from Mrs.
Frank Leslie. Mrs. Leslie intends to pur-
chase house at Washington and to spend her
winters there in the future. She will have O
salon at the capital, give receptions and dim
ners, and, with the aid of her great paper,
she may throw herself into president making.
1t will not be surprising if her salon partakes
OF the character of that of Madame Adam at
Paris, where the leading politicians met to-
gether and where national issues were often
discussed and decided upon. Indeed, Mrs.
Leslie's receptions here in New York, which
she gives Thursday evenings during her stay
are attended by many literary lights ant.
other prominent characters of this city
There is great field for such a woman il
Washington, and if Mrs. Leslie has anythim
like as much social ability as she has business
ability, she will make her salon one of th
great institutions of Washington society.
Many people have heard the story of Mrs
Leslie's remarkable career. but few have got
ten it as did from her own lips She told M,
of her struggles when Frank Leslie died. leav
ing her with $500, 900 worth of debt, and with
nothing but the in junction to go into his of.
flee and do his work until his debts were
paid. She told me of her fight to get hold Of
the paper and to get money to pay even its
necessary expenses. Through the boy which
her husband had taken into his office she was
able to borrow $4,000 from O wealthy
woman who had confidence in her, though
the lawyers advised her against the loan. Sho
ogreed to pay this loan in six months INSTALL
r1ents OF 5000 each, and at the time she took
tho money this seemed an impossibility.
She got control of the establishment two,
DIS before Garfield was shot Everything
was in chaos. Nevertheless she shipped her
artists to Washington and scooped the other
illustrated newspapers on the news. She sold
$4,000 copies of the weekly in Cleveland at
the time of Garield's funeral, and she made
$4,000 clear by throwing the sketches which
she used in the weekly into a memorial edi-
ton and selling them. She had gotten her
loan Of $4,000, think, in January, and in
November her first instalment of 5000 was
due. By Oct. 10 she was able to pay the loan
in full, and she gave her creditor $50, 1000
with interest to that date
She didn't stop her enterprise with Gar
field. She pushed Frank Leslie's publications
everywhere She lived simply, and during
the first two years of her struggles, in which
she paid off $200.000 Of debts, she spent but
little on herself. She lived in an uncarpeted,
fireless attic, where she had to stand upon a
chair to see the blue sky, and she worked all
day and far into the night at her business A
year later she had closed out another hundred
thousand dollars of bills, and the name of
Frank Leslie was clear OF debt. Since then
her property has grown in value and it is
now worth a round million and it brings her
in an income of 100000 n year She tells me
that she has no family, and that she don't
think she can spend part of her money bet
ter than at Washington. She is proud of her
success, but not boastful and there is nothing
that the world calls "loud' about her.
asked her as to her daily life and how she
managed to accomplish 80 much work and to
do it SO easily. She replied that she took
good care of herself and worked by system
She gave me the outline of her daily work
when in America She rises in the morning
and takes a cold BATH, then exercises briskly
with the dumb bells, has light breakfast,
and by O'Clock is OH the elevated train going
down to her office She works busily here
from until 4, experimenting every thing,
making all the purchases, and deciding on the
more important manuscripts which are to go
into her publications. She employs 400
editors, craftsmen, artists and other workers
and keeps twenty presses busy at printing her
periodicals. She says she considers herself rs
good judge of white paper as any man in
New YorH, and her purchases Of this article
alone amount to 5000 a week. She paws
high salaries too, and she has artists to whom
she gives Sl3O week and engravers who get
as high as $50 a week.
She does not believe i'm the principle of her
husband in training bright men for other
publications. Mr.. Frank Leslie was wont to
take young artists, train them to their work
until they became valuable, and then allow
them to go to other houses upon the offer of
higher wages. Mrs. Leslie says she wants the
best artists and she is willing to pay the high
est prices for them. She tells me that her
husbands establishment was for years great
training school and that Thomas Mast was en-
ployed by him when he was yet hoy at the
rnte of So week. Mast came in to Leslie with
portfolio Of drawings, and told Leslie that
he would like to do some sketching for him.
Mr.. Leslie directed him to Fulton ferry, and
told him to bring back some character
sketches. He did SO. They were crude, but
they showed talent, and Frank Leslie took
linn into the Office. He served here for some
time, his wages being greatly increased with
his proficiency. He is now receiving $40, 900
year from Harper's Weekly on the condi-
tion that he gives them his exclusive work.
Had Mrs. Leslie been in charge it is probable
she would never have allowed Mast to leave.
Keppler. the artist Of Puck, did much of his
first work with Frank Leslie He was intro
duced to the office by Carl Schurz as bright
man from st. Louis, and it was Leslie who
directed him how to draw bis sketches aud